Stakeholder engagement practices and impression management

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the substantiveness of stakeholder engagement by examining voluntary disclosures tied to the engagement process. The objective is to draw a portrait of stakeholder engagement practices and determine whether they genuinely contribute to informing stakeholders or whether they are simply intended to manage stakeholders’ impressions. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed an exploratory content analysis on 113 sustainability reports published in 2018 in the Global Reporting Initiative database. The authors investigated disclosures tied to consulted stakeholders, communication modes and material issues resulting from the engagement process. The authors then assessed the substantiveness of these disclosures to determine the extent of the impression management tactics deployed in the stakeholder engagement disclosures made by Canadian companies. Findings Data analysis showed that more than a third of Canadian firms tend to make generic disclosures on their stakeholders’ engagement. As well, almost half the engagement modes disclosed are unidirectional and fewer than 33% of Canadian companies disclose on relevant sustainability issues. Furthermore, only 26% of the sample seek assurance on the information disclosed. Overall, the authors note an important trend in impression management used in sustainability reporting and underscore a potentially significant sectoral effect in the tactics used. Originality/value These data provide new insight into stakeholder engagement processes and highlight the strategies used by Canadian companies to manage their stakeholders’ impressions rather than their expectations. The study also contributes to a better understanding of the underexplored stakeholder engagement process and provides regulatory organisations with deepened insights to better frame stakeholder engagement disclosures.

Analysis of double materiality in early adopters. Are companies walking the talk?

“…Although Directive (EU) 2022/2464 states that the first companies obliged to present this information will do so in 2025 when their corporate reports for 2024 are prepared (European Commission, 2022), several companies have already applied this initiative voluntarily in their sustainability reports. Although the early adoption of sustainability issues may be well received by stakeholders and serve as a guide to companies that will adopt the guidelines later, Gagné et al (2021) observed that this could be a corporate strategy to manage the firm’s image by making stakeholders believe the company is at the forefront of sustainability issues. In view of these considerations, our paper is based on signalling theory (Spence, 1973) and also on legitimacy theory (Suchman, 1995).…”

Impression Management in Voluntary Narrative Disclosure through Length and Tone, Stakeholder Theory Lens

“…The study used the stakeholder theory, a theory widely used in accounting (Hörisch et al, 2020). Perhaps there is the abundance of evidence in the literature that narrative disclosure is used mostly to communicate with stakeholders and is used to manage their impressions (Gagné et al, 2021). It is assumed that the motive behind impression management is solely to create a perception that the company is creating value for stakeholders.…”

Organizational commitment to sustainability dimensions

“…Evidence that some corporations have ulterior motives when issuing sustainability reports is provided by Gagne ´et al (2021) in a study of Canadian firms listed on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database. Reports were analyzed from 113 companies representing various sectors.…”